Preferences, Legacy: C-student Bush Finds Way Out Of Race Divisions

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February 2, 2003|By Myriam Marquez, Sentinel Columnist

Sure, it grates. George W. Bush, with his average grades, got his own "affirmative action" at Yale through his father's connections as an alumnus. Now the president, by challenging the University of Michigan's race-preferences admissions policy, wants to deny kids of color an opportunity to get into college even though many may have better grades than he did.

So say the critics who play the legacy card to obfuscate the legal reality and Bush's true intentions.

Because they don't want to admit that maybe, just maybe, Bush has come up with a better way to achieve the laudable goal of diversity. A way that doesn't hang the albatross of race, sex or national origin to serve as eternal victimhood for talented students who already have proved themselves despite life's obstacles.

At the University of Michigan, minority students get extra points if they're, say, black or Hispanic -- two groups that are disproportionately poor compared to other ethnic or racial groups. The university's plan seeks to maintain a campus that mirrors America's racial and ethnic mix. I agree with that goal, but Michigan is going about it the wrong way.

There was a time when such a point system was necessary, back when universities had a long history of racist and sexist admissions policies that gave white males priority. But in 2003?

The reality is courts have ruled numerous times against preferences using race, sex or ethnicity. The Supremes likely will go the same route.

It takes more work, more time to tutor students in poor communities, to get diversity on college campuses without using set-asides, but it's happening not only in Texas but in California and Florida. All three states dropped preferences for a system that guarantees college admission to a certain percent of graduates at each high school. This ensures that students in predominantly poor schools, disproportionately students of color, get rewarded for their hard work.

There's still discrimination against blacks and other minorities in our society. Only fools would deny that it doesn't exist, but neither is this the America of 1960.

Most blacks in America are middle class, though poverty remains higher among blacks than whites. Fifteen percent of African-Americans age 25 and older have earned, at the very least, a bachelor's degree, according to the U.S. Census in 2000. Among Americans of white European ancestry, 28 percent have finished college. So there's a gap of 13 percent, but it's not insurmountable.

Back to the legacy card. There is now 15 percent of college-educated African-Americans whose children can get in the game using legacy. If minority students aren't at the very top in grades or SAT scores, those students still have mom's alma mater or dad's college connections to help open some doors.

What of poor students or even those kids whose middle-class parents made it without going to college?

Bush suggests students be guaranteed admission to college if they rank among the top 10 percent of their high-school graduation class, as is done in Texas. The individual student's effort is what counts, but by opening competition to each high school, from the poorest neighborhood to the 'burbs, diversity is assured.

It's a good plan, but it needs tweaking to close that 13-point gap in college admissions. First, Bush should put more money behind college loans and federal grants for students who need it. Because poverty disproportionately affects blacks and Latinos, they would benefit the most. And he should encourage states to go to the top 15 or, as Florida does, the top 20 percent of each graduating class for guaranteed admissions to ensure a growing mix.

Bush isn't shutting the door on affirmative action. He's proposing to open it wider without giving bigots an excuse to blame preferences for their own failings.

For a guy who admits he was a C student in college, that's pretty darn smart.